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Time for some TRAFFIC!

Skeptic Ginger said:
Benghazi has been asked and answered. The latest new email says nothing the old ones didn't say. Apparently Clinton asked for more money for security of the embassies and it was voted down by the GOP.

Chris Christie's abuse of power has yet to be completely explained.


But by all means, let's hear your reason this is analogous.
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Man, Benghazi, huh? What a tarbaby it is! You don't want to debate it, but you just can't help debating it, can you?
 
theprestige said:
Man, Benghazi, huh? What a tarbaby it is! You don't want to debate it, but you just can't help debating it, can you?
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Apparently I wasn't clear enough or you aren't paying attention.

Dude, I didn't bring it up. You need to address that to applecorped.
 
Oops

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) – A last-minute change avoided what could have been an uncomfortable moment in the Sept. 11 museum dedication ceremony: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie followed by “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”

The original program for the ceremony had Christie’s remarks followed by Idina Menzel‘s performance of the song. That sent social media aflutter with speculation that the scheduling was a jab at the governor over accusations that his staff intentionally clogged traffic near the George Washington Bridge to punish a political adversary.
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http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/05...r-troubled-water-song-after-christie-remarks/
 
Federal investigators still haven't found a link to Christie after nine months:
The U.S. Justice Department investigation into New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s role in “Bridgegate” has thus far uncovered no information he either knew in advance or directed the closure of traffic lanes on the George Washington Bridge, federal officials tell NBC 4 New York.

[ . . . ]

“My experience with federal law enforcement is that once you reach critical mass if you don’t have it within nine months or so you’re not likely to ever get it,” former federal prosecutor Robert W. Ray said.
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Talking Points Memo: "Yet."
 
At long last, will we see someone be held to account for when Chris Christie's political bullying culture crosses the line into criminality?

This article from the NY Times says that indictments are coming soon.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/09/n...near-in-george-washington-bridge-scandal.html

People close to the case say prosecutors are likely to bring charges based on a rarely used provision of a fraud statute, under which they would argue that Mr. Christie's associates used the bridge, or the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs it, for a purpose other than its intended one.
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The blowhard governor may not be on the hit list yet, but let's see what happens when those who have direct knowledge of his involvement start to see visions of the gates of a federal prison.
 
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I read somewhere that the bridge-gate investigation has been completed for many months. That investigation apparently led authorities to uncover other "irregularities" that they have spent much more effort on.

I sort of liked CC early on when he sounded like a reasonable "can-do" republican, but in the interim since this thing started, he has come to have only two options as a defense: 1) I'm a terrible manager 2)I'm a sleazy politician. Even if he wriggles out of jail time, neither one makes for a very convincing presidential campaign slogan.
 
Olowkow said:
I read somewhere that the bridge-gate investigation has been completed for many months. That investigation apparently led authorities to uncover other "irregularities" that they have spent much more effort on.

I sort of liked CC early on when he sounded like a reasonable "can-do" republican, but in the interim since this thing started, he has come to have only two options as a defense: 1) I'm a terrible manager 2)I'm a sleazy politician. Even if he wriggles out of jail time, neither one makes for a very convincing presidential campaign slogan.
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At least he got Exxon off of having to clean up the stuff it dumped. So he is good for some persons.
 
Political Payback Behind Charges in N.J. Bridge Scandal

Conclusions emerge from the guilty plea of David Wildstein, an ally of Gov. Chris Christie

The simple, strange explanation for the lane closures at the George Washington Bridge turned out to be the right one: Allies of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie shut down access to the world’s busiest bridge to punish a mayor who wouldn’t endorse their boss.

That conclusion emerged Friday from the guilty plea of one of those erstwhile Christie allies, David Wildstein, who pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy for his role in masterminding the weeklong closures in September 2013, as Mr. Christie raced to a resounding re-election.

Also Friday, federal prosecutors unsealed a nine-count indictment charging Mr. Wildstein’s alleged co-conspirators, Bill Baroni and Bridget Anne Kelly, with helping Mr. Wildstein to carry out the caper. The alleged goal of the closures was to punish the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee, N.J., with intentional traffic jams after he wouldn’t endorse Mr. Christie, a Republican.

Still unknown, however, is how much more the investigation could uncover and whether it will identify any other members of Mr. Christie’s circle who knew of the lane-closure plan but kept silent.
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So, Wildstein, Kelly and Baroni. And the original theory about why was the right one.

ETA: oh, and this bit is important too:
Mr. Wildstein’s attorney said his client was remorseful and willing to testify against his former colleagues. Mr. Wildstein signed a plea deal in January and is cooperating against Mr. Baroni and Ms. Kelly.

Mr. Baroni and Ms. Kelly were charged with nine criminal counts—three counts of conspiracy, four counts of wire fraud, one count of intentionally misapplying property of an organization receiving federal benefits and one count of deprivation of civil rights, prosecutors said. Both declared their innocence and vowed to fight the charges.
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So Wildstein is a rat, out to save his own skin at the expense of the others. Wasn't it his idea in the first place?
I thought there was something particularly slimy about him. He liked to quote Machiavelli on his blog. Also he was super creepy to others at the Port Authority.
 
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Puppycow said:
... So, Wildstein, Kelly and Baroni. And the original theory about why was the right one.
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In addition, Christie may or may not have no traceable connection, but very few people believe this could have happened without his knowledge or involvement. He may think he's dodged a bullet but I'd bet good odds he is not off the hook yet for this or some of the other corruption that is being uncovered in the bridge investigation.
 
Skeptic Ginger said:
What's her face was caught red handed with the 'time for some traffic' email. It's hard to have any empathy for her.
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True. I just get the sense that he was the architect and the one who had the idea in the first place. The others are guilty of going along with his plan and in Kelly's case she may have given the order for him to execute it.
 
This other story in the Times focuses on the political implications for Christie:

With Bridge Case Charges, a Cloud Descends on Christie’s White House Hopes

In an era of maddeningly careful politics, Gov. Chris Christie rocketed to national stardom as brazenly incautious. His excesses defined him: the scorching rants, the seductive oversharing, the caustic insults and endless public feuds.

Harmless theatrics, he said.

But the in-your-face instincts and boundary-breaking behavior that Mr. Christie brought to public life found a vindictive host in the fiercely loyal circle around him, as the federal indictment of a top appointee and a former deputy chief of staff in the George Washington Bridge lane-closing scandal laid bare on Friday.
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Nowhere does the indictment say Mr. Christie, a Republican, knew of the scheme or was involved in it.

Yet it was a crime of political vengeance, the indictment makes clear, that was conceived in furtherance of Mr. Christie’s political ambitions, and carried out in his name.
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“Even if he is not directly connected to the indictments,” Professor Harrison said, “he is guilty of creating a political culture in which corruption was allowed to flourish.”
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Mr. Christie and his staff have a history of punishing those who have crossed him. There was the state college professor whose budget was vetoed after he failed to sign off on a project that Mr. Christie favored. The mayor of Jersey City whose meetings with the governor’s staff were summarily canceled hours after he said he would not endorse Mr. Christie’s re-election. The attempt, even before the lane closings, to freeze out the mayor of Fort Lee for failing to back Mr. Christie.

“There was a level of arrogance,” Ms. Harrison said, “that would seem to be coming from the top down.”
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Bridget Anna Kelly has a legal defense fund up. There's a nice picture of her and her 4 kids and then the irony-free blurb: "I am determined to clear my name and restore a sense of normalcy for my 4 children. This Fund will aid in ensuring truth and justice prevails."
Really?!? Truth and justice for her?? How about the thousands of people delayed and harassed because of Wildstein, Baroni and their plot? Emergency workers delayed in traffic; an elderly woman in cardiac arrest who later died- what about truth and justice for them? How about the Jersey taxpayers that will have to shell out tax dollars to pay for the inevitable lawsuits? I realize- innocent until proven guilty but these emails are pretty damning. Read the snarky email exchanges between the three and see if you think she is worthy of your contributions. Newbie so can't post links yet but it's: bridgetannekellydefense dot com
 
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